Prepayment-meter.



N. KOLAR.

PREPAYMENT METER. APPLICATION FILED APR- 16.1915.

Patented Nov. 21, 1916.

INVENTOR:

NAN DOR KQLAR EEJZWJMJ ATTORNEY.

UNITED s'ra'iins PATENT OFFICE.

armor. 1:01.53, 01 Brmnns'r, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, .essrelvon r0 Auromn'rno- GRAPH nEszvENYTAnsAsAG, or BUnarEs'r, AUSTRIA-HUNGARY, a conrom- TION OF HUNGARY.-

PBEPAYMENT-METER.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NANnoR Koren, a subect of the King of Hungary, residing at udapest, in the Empire of Austria-Hum gary, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Prepayment-Meters, of which the following is'a s ecification.

The known coin free or prepayment meters have the drawback that the control is very complicated and connected with great expense and that the customer receives no receipt in respectofthe amounttaken by the apparatus. According tothis invention these drawbacks are obviated in the following manner: The receiving receptacle for the inserted coinsis connectedin a known manner with a collecting receptacle which is accessible solely to the controlling oflicial and to which'the coins are conveyed from' the receiving receptacle by mechanism oper ated by the'meter according to the extent of the consumption. Now, in accordance with this invention the collecting receptacle is connected .to a printing counting apparatus adapted to print a receipt and indicatingthe number of the coins contained in the collecting receptacle, that is to say, the corresponding amount in money at the time being, so that the collecting receptacle can be opened after being emptied only after issue of the receipt and after the printing counting apparatus has been reset to zero.

the receipts which, by preference, are issued in two copies, one is allotted to the customer and the other serves to control the collect-.

ing official. i he accompanying drawing illustrates by way of example, a constructional form of the invention. 7

Figure 1 shows a vertical longitudinal section ofa meter construction provided with the'improvements. Fig. 2 a transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 a

transverse section on the line 3-8 of Fig. 1. 1 Fig. 4: indicates the manner in which the in-- serted printing frame releases the locking arrangement of the collecting receptacle.

The coins 5' are introduced through a slot Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1916.

Application filed April 16, 1915. Serial No. 21,916. I

l and passing through the slot 2 of a drum 4. rotatable by means of a handle 3, drop during the rotation of the drum successively mto a receiver 6 in which they are piled up. As the drum 51 rotates, the coins in their passage to the receiver 6 actuate a ratchet wheel 32 of a counting train which indicates the .shaft 19 which drives the counting apparatus is intermittently rotated. This shaft has attached to one of its ends a crank 20 operated by which in upward. and downward direction'is a push rod,21 carrying a toe 22.

Attached to the casing'is a collecting receptacle 7 adapted to receive the coins released from the receiver 6 by the action of the meter. The receptacle 7 is attached to the part 9 of the casing by means of a bayonet joint 8 andis provided with a looking pin 10 engaging with a spring actuated bolt 11, thereby preventing the removal or opening of the collecting receptacle 7.

From the shaft 17 driven by the meter is actuated, on the one hand the counting train 23 indicating the consumption of the meter and on the other hand, the counting train 24 which indicates the amount corresponding to the consumption, that is to say, the amount contained at the time being in the collecting receptacle 7. This latter counting train 24 is provided with a known zeroizing device by which the counting train is reset to zero. The casing 25 is provided 'with an opening 26 controlled by a door adapted for the introduction'into the apparatus of a well-known printing frame 33 (Fig. 4) which contains the receipt to be printed (if desired in several. copies) and the printing mechanism. Arranged, moreover, in the casing is a two-armed lever 28, 29 pivoted at 27 and flexibly connected to the spring actuated bolt 11.

, The operation is as follows: The reciproeating slide 13 actuated by the meter releases the individual' coins 5- from the receiver 6 and always precisely at the instant in which the unit of consumption or the corresponding amount is registered by the counting trains 23, 24, thetoe 22 on the rod 21 pushes the coin located on the slide 13 through the opening 31 into the collecting receptacle 7 The precise coincidence of the registration and of the de- 1 livery of the coin is attained by driving both the counting trains 23, 24 and the push rod 21 simultaneously by {the same intermittently acting gear 18.

" In order to enable the collecting clerk to withdraw the money from the collecting receptaele he must, first of all insert the printing frame 33 through the opening 26 into the apparatus. The printing frame on being inserted strikes by means of its end 34 against the lever arm 29 thereby causing the lever arm 28 to withdraw the bolt 11in order to release the locking pin 10 of the collecting receptacle 7. The bayonet joint 8 may now be released and the collecting receptaele 7 detached from the casing por: tion 9 and emptied. The printing frame is inserted in awell-known manner. It cannot be withdrawn fromthe apparatus without previously printing the record on the counting trains 23, 24 and zeroizing of the train 24 sothat the printing frame after being withdrawn contains two or more copies of the receipt for the amount contained in the collecting receptacle, of which one copy is used for the ustomer and the other for the company to control the amount taken by the collector.

The device may be varied in many ways without departing from the spirit of the-invention.- For instance, the counting train 24 may be omitted and the counting train producing the receipt may indicate only the number of coins contained in the receptacle 7 instead of the amount thereof. .Moreover,

in place, in which action the pin 10 again 1 engages with the locln'ng bolt 11, thus securing the collecting receptacle 7 in its position. Since the door controlling the opening 26 can be opened only by means of a key, the access to the lever 29 is possible 1 only for authorized persons.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a prepayment meter, a receipt recording means; a coin receptacle; a locldng device connected .to the meter and adapted to hold the coin receptacle locked until the receipt recording means is operated.

2. In a prepayment meter, a recording means; a coin receptacle; a locking device connected to the meter and adapted to hold the. coin receptacle locked until after the recording means has made a record.

3. In a prepayment meter, a recording means; a coin receptacle; a locking device connected to the meter and adapted to hold the coin receptacle locked until after the recording means has made a record and has been zeroized.

4. In a prepayment meter, the combination of a coin receiver, a coin collecting receptaele detachable from the meter, a receipt recording frame adapted to coeperate with the counting train of the meter, a mechanism controlling the connection of the collecting receptacle with the meter and actuated bythe said receipt recording frame so that the collecting receptacle can be detached only after the receipt has been recorded and the counting train zeroized.

5. In a prepayment meter,-the combination of acoin receiver, a coin collector, mechanismfor delivering individual coins from the receiver to the said collector, a receipt recording frame, a locln'ng device connecting the collector to the meter and releasing mechanism operated by the receipt recording frame, substantially as setforth.

6. In a prepayment meter, the combination .ofcounting trains, driving mechanism actuating the same, a coin receiver, a coin collector, a reciprocating slide for abstracting individual coins from the said receiver, a vertically reciprocating pusher for delivering the individual coms from the said slide to the collector and means for operating the said slide and the said pusher from the driving mechanism actuating the counting trains. of the meter, substantially as set I forth.

.end of the counting apparatus shaft; a push rodoperated by the crankand provided with a toe adapted to tip a coin from the slide; a In testimony whereof I have affixed my coin receptacle; a locking pin secured to signature in presence of two Witnesses. the receptacle; a spring actuated bolt engaging said pin; a lever connected to said NANDOR bolt; and a receipt printing frame adapted Witnesses: to contact said lever for withdrawing the EUGENE KARsANN,

bolt and releasing the pin. SAMUEL SIEGAR. 

